Do You Want To Know Who Really "Destroyed" Pediatrics In Asheboro . . . And What To Do About It?

My Fox-hating friend called tonight to chat. He's still put out about Randolph Hospital's new "Hollywood" TV spot. But that's not the reason he called. He wanted to warn me about the latest pro-hospital spin wafting through the community . . . a stench clearly emanating from the executives offices of Randolph Hospital (we've both heard it from separate sources):

"Mary Johnson destroyed Pediatrics in Asheboro."

Now, that actually translates to: It's very difficult to recruit new doctors to town, when with the click of a mouse, they can pull up a take-no-prisoners blog . . . authored by a local doctor who signs her name . . . that tells the ugly story of how Randolph treated Pediatricians who came before . . . a story Randolph has only wanted to bury and cover-up from day one.

Of course, the notion that I "destroyed" Pediatrics in my hometown is just laughable . . . but the "pity-the-poor-hospital" spin is, sadly, quite predictable. Moreover, it's been addressed before on this blog.

The unforgivable sin that Mary Johnson actually committed was to fight back when two over-rated, over-paid hospital executives destroyed/absorbed her Pediatric practice and viciously attacked her professional reputation & ability to make a living locally.

When you think about it, Dr. Mary Johnson is really no different from a Bernie Madoff investor. She came home. She made an enormous fiscal, personal and emotional investment in Asheboro. But she's not supposed to be nail-spitting mad about her employment & government contracts being breached . . . or being thrown out on the street for doing her job the way it was supposed to be done. She's not supposed to be the least bit put out because she was forced to fight off a bogus "libel" lawsuit . . . filed to humiliate her . . . and intimidate her into silence . . . after she dared tell the government she served the truth. And now she's supposed to roll over and die (after all, she's just a "rich" doctor) even though she was swindled at settlement by perjury, contempt and fraud.

But the state of Pediatrics as a speciality in Asheboro is her fault. Tell me another good one!

Meanwhile, a lot of people charge with oversight . . . people who should have known better . . . people who should have/could have stopped what was happening . . . looked the other way. They go by important names like Kinlaw and Stout and Scott and Crisco and Haywood and Bossong and Redding. I know I've left many out, but you get the general drift.

The powers-that-be just never expected the lowly "nobody" to fight back - or hang so tough.

Here's the thing that the Randolph Hospital Board members who continue to employ Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin (along with any of the local businessmen/politicians who still shield, protect and make excuses for them) do not get: The first thing any smart, savvy young-gun in Pediatric training these days is going to do when checking out a new location/new job is Google Asheboro/Randolph County/Randolph Hospital/RMA/Pediatrics/and yes, even Dr. Mary Johnson.

You see, despite Steve Eblin's theory that "good Pediatricians are a dime a dozen", these bright-eyed newbies have years and hundreds-of-thousands of dollars invested in their training, and they don't need to go anywhere where their service and contributions are not valued and appreciated.

A few page loads of my blog, and Eblin's once-snazzy sales pitch is DOA and in file 13.

The whole Asheboro is dying thing probably doesn't help either. I had nothing to do with that.

Mary Johnson simply found a way to keep these Pediatric newbies from falling for the same lines and into the same trap she did. She does not want anyone else with talent and integrity and high hopes and dreams and great promise to sign contracts with Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin under the mistaken notion that the management of Randolph Hospital can be trusted, or that those contracts will be honored.

And she makes NO APOLOGIES for it.

Moreover, what residency director with a soul or a conscience is going to send one of his grads to Asheboro, while the same executives who did previous grads dirty are still running the show?

Make no mistake, the two people who "destroyed" Pediatrics in Asheboro are Robert Morrison and Steven Eblin . . . and (incredibly) they are still employed by Randolph Hospital. Their expensive services have always been deemed more important that those of the the doctors (not just Pediatricians) they drummed out of town.

If the parents now standing in line with their kids at the Merce Clinic have any questions about that, they need to direct them to the Board members who still employ these corporate bullies.

You see, instead of allowing good/dedicated Pediatricians (who had worked hard and wanted to stay) to transition and the specialty to evolve fairly in a free market, Bob and Steve had to control and/or "own" everything and everyone. And when they could not do that, they lied and cheated to get their way.

In their case, the lying and cheating crossed the line into criminal behavior . . . multiple felonies.

Yes, Randolph Hospital has a reputation. It has a reputation because Dr. Mary Johnson is not the only doctor the hospital has managed to screw over during the medical-management-terrorist regime of Bob Morrison & Steven Eblin.

Mary Johnson is just the only one who fought back. Because some things are worth fighting for.

So. If anyone really wants to "fix" Pediatrics in Asheboro, here's a suggestion:

Fire Morrison and Eblin FOR CAUSE. See that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their perjury, contempt, fraud and obstruction of civil justice. Now full prosecution would involve jail time. But if they want to avoid that, they and the hospital that condoned every single nasty thing they did (and, in truth, should be sanctioned by the state for it) can, (1) offer an unconditional apology, and (2) negotiate a plea bargain through the DA and/or (preferably) the NC Attorney General's office . . . in which Dr. Johnson is finally fully and fairly compensated for her considerable losses (after ELEVEN YEARS of what can only be described as mill-town bovine barnyard excrement).

I'd actually be very happy to see Bob & Steve doing thousands of hours of community service . . . cleaning toilets at the jail . . . or serving as an example to local schoolchildren that crime does not pay.

And OBTW, Randolph Hospital needs to make sure that a large chunk of any fiscal compensation offered to Dr. Johnson in a plea bargain comes not out of the hospital's operating budget, but is forfeited from the parachutes and retirement cushions Morrison and Eblin no doubt have waiting for them when their long & illustrious careers in Asheboro (spent selling primary care - especially Pediatrics - way short) are over.

The only language Bob and Steve ever understood was money. Let them understand just how wrong they were.

They are a cancer on Asheboro's medical landscape and it's far past the time they were cut out.

Once all of that is done, I would then suggest that Randolph Hospital agressively market that it has turned over a new leaf . . . one that does not include lying to patients, cheating & stealing from doctors, or manipulating the general public. They probably need to focus a little bit more on the basics . . . on delivering good primary care.

It also would be nice if the Courier could crawl out of their butt . . . if the paper had the guts or journalistic integrity to say, we'll support you when you're right, but you're toast when you're wrong.

You might be surprised at what these things might do for Pediatric recruitment. And who knows? "Dr. Mary" might even consider coming back someday and helping repair the damage Bob & Steve did to her hometown.

Part Three of my new series from the legal files is still under composition - I'm sorry for the delay, but it's a tough one to work through intellectually and emotionally. I've been sitting on it/mulling it all over for well over a week. We are going to talk about the night Dr. Mary Johnson defied Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin . . . and made a decision that forever changed/disrupted her life.

But you know what? This doctor will still take the Christmas Card she gets every year ANY DAY over selling her soul to please Bob & Steve.

We're going to talk about who destroyed what and why. We're going to talk about the cover-up.

Maybe, just maybe, someone in Bev Perdue's office . . . or Barack Obama's . . . is reading.

Real healthcare reform is not just about giving patients everything they want in terms of coverage and access. It's about returning the practice of medicine to doctors. So that what happened to Mary Johnson eleven years ago . . . what happened to Asheboro . . . cannot ever happen again.

Wednesday Morning Update: Had a good night sleep. Tweaked the post this morning. Additions in bold blue.